Boyd quits St. Louis Board of Aldermen, Reed weighs leave after indictments [St. Louis Post-Dispatch]

Jun. 4—ST. LOUIS — Jeffrey Boyd resigned Friday from the Board of Aldermen and Aldermanic President Lewis Reed was said to be weighing a possible leave of absence the day after they and a former board member were indicted on federal corruption charges.

The fallout after Thursday's indictments comes as the board is in the midst of time-sensitive work, including passing the annual budget and appropriating another $249 million of federal pandemic aid.

Boyd, among the board's longest-serving members, submitted his resignation less than three hours after he took part in the board's weekly meeting, which was held by videoconference because of coronavirus concerns.

In an email to Reed and other officials, Boyd said he was "proud of the good work we as a community have accomplished" during more than 19 years representing the 22nd Ward.

He made no mention of the bribery and insurance fraud charges he faces; he pleaded not guilty on Thursday.

Boyd, a Democrat, had run unsuccessfully four times for citywide offices, most recently in the August 2020 Democratic primary to try to unseat then-City Treasurer Tishaura O. Jones, who last year was elected mayor. The two had clashed repeatedly over Jones' handling as treasurer of city parking operations and on other issues.

"The residents of the 22nd Ward will be better served by an alderman who is not facing federal corruption charges," Jones said in a Friday statement following Boyd's resignation. "Jeffrey Boyd needed to go."

Meanwhile, Alderman Joe Vollmer said after speaking with Reed he expects Reed to take an extended leave of absence, temporarily delegating his board duties to him.

"I believe that's what's going to happen," said Vollmer, who already had been asked by Reed to preside over board meetings until further notice. Vollmer, of the 10th Ward, began doing that Friday.

Reed could not be reached for comment.

Vollmer succeeds Boyd as board vice president because he has the most continuous seniority among ward aldermen and would fill in for Reed.

If Reed does go on leave, Vollmer said he expects to take over another of Reed's duties — assigning bills to committees.

Vollmer said he didn't know what Reed would do regarding another one of Reed's key responsibilities — serving on the city's top fiscal panel, the Board of Estimate and Apportionment.

Like Boyd, Reed and former Alderman John Collins-Muhammad pleaded not guilty to charges that they accepted bribes from a small business owner in exchange for approving legislation authorizing property tax breaks.

Collins-Muhammad abruptly resigned from his 21st Ward seat on May 12, asking for forgiveness for "shortcomings and mistakes" without elaborating.

Boyd's final meeting

Boyd submitted his resignation despite giving every indication during Friday's board meeting that he planned to stay on while fighting in court.

At the meeting, Boyd attempted unsuccessfully to pass a development measure he sponsored — a resolution authorizing a property tax break on a warehouse expansion on Bircher Boulevard on the north side.

When Boyd brought up the measure for a vote, Alderman Christine Ingrassia, 6th Ward, made a motion to return it to committee.

Boyd said holding the measure "would be an unjust move because this company has done nothing wrong."

Alderman Sharon Tyus, 1st Ward, then suggested that Boyd put the resolution aside until a later meeting.

Tyus said while she is a strong believer in the innocent until proven guilty principle, delaying action would allow board members to "kind of look at it and people can feel comfortable" with it. Boyd then did as Tyus suggested.

In an interview after the meeting, Ingrassia said given the charges against Boyd related to other property tax abatements, sending the measure back to committee would give him and city development officials an opportunity to "help us understand why this is a valid deal."

The measure, which still could be brought up by another alderman, would authorize 10 years of tax abatement for a company tied to Sauget-based FW Logistics, which had recently purchased a warehouse in the Mark Twain Interstate-70 Industrial area. The company planned to invest $1.5 million to renovate the unoccupied building, adding 95 jobs, according to a report from the city's economic development arm, which recommended the incentive in February.

A company official did not respond to a request for comment.

At the end of the meeting, Boyd announced that the influential Housing, Urban Development and Zoning committee he chaired would hold a hearing next week on a major bill authorizing an additional $54 million in street work near the site of the new headquarters of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The city intends to apply for federal grants as part of the project, and Rob Orr, deputy director of the city's development arm, said during a Friday development board meeting that the aldermanic bill needed to pass "so we can be in a position get a competitive grant in line."

Alderman Jack Coatar, the HUDZ vice chair, said he had been in contact with city staff about the need for the bill and would hold the committee hearing Thursday. HUDZ also hears bills appropriating American Rescue Plan Act funds, and Coatar said he would keep the committee "humming along as far as there's zoning and development work and ARPA to appropriate."

"We're in a situation where we've got a lot of balls in the air and a lot of things to get done," said Coatar, 7th Ward. "Those things need to keep moving and they need to keep moving in a way that gives the public confidence, and I'm hopeful we can do that."

Whether the indictments affect other development-related measures remains to be seen.

Alderman Bill Stephens, 12th Ward, on Thursday said he was proposing a resolution calling for a moratorium on tax abatements and tax increment financing through the board's current term that ends next year.

"We can learn from the events of today, but to learn requires action," he wrote on Twitter Thursday. "A resolution alone is insufficient, but it is my hope that it forces the necessary conversations and actions regarding tax incentives and our City."

{h2 class="MsoNormal"}Filling vacancies{/h2}

Boyd's position will be filled in a special election to be called by the city Election Board. Gary Stoff, an election board official, said it likely would be in late August.

An election on a successor to Collins-Muhammad has been scheduled for Aug. 2, the day of the statewide primary.

People picked to succeed the two will serve the remainder of their terms, which end next April. Reed's term also ends in April.

Boyd is the fourth alderman to resign this year as the board moves toward implementation in April of a plan in which the city's wards and ward aldermen are cut in half to 14 from 28.

The last time criminal charges spurred a resignation from the board was in March 2020 after Larry Arnowitz, who represented the 12th Ward, was indicted. He was sentenced to federal prison in August 2020 after he admitted misusing $21,180 in campaign funds for his home mortgage and other personal expenses.

Joel Currier of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.

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